One of my favorite sites, lime.com, got bought out by Gaiam. That's the brand at Borders and other stores that sells yoga mats and pilates videos and such. I was hoping that it wouldn't lead to lime.com turning into another online shopping site. I checked it out the other day, and ended up on Gaiam's site, and found this:
Gaiam Online Yoga Club
You pay $5/week for 12 weeks and you get a follow-along at home yoga program. Now that's $60, I realize. But that's also less than half of what it would cost going to the studio an hour away and taking classes there. 12 weeks at a brick-and-mortar yoga studio would cost around $200.
So I guess it's expensive in general, but a great deal for some good yoga classes. But learning yoga while watching a computer monitor? I'm not sold. I wonder if this online program is worthwhile or not. It would certainly be something to carry me through most of the winter, give me something to be committed to and not get the winter blahs. I dunno. Hm
08 January 2009
28 December 2008
The Second Job Christmas
The holiday job thing is great for money, I made a ton of extra money this holiday. It's just not so good for things like.... trying to enjoy a holiday. I got my tree up and that's it. No decorations. No christmas cards. Hell, I barely had time to shop for gifts, but luckily that was one thing I could accomplish at job #2. Macy's is an ok place to work, but my feet will need weeks to recover from this. I'm scheduling lots of pedicures in January, lots of yoga, lots of outdoors. That should get me back to normal. Anyway, there are definite perks to working at Macy's. The employee discount is one. Seeing what hits the clearance table before others is the second. Having something to do during the boring inclement weather is the third. Though I'd have to say the worst thing is wishing people a "happy holidays" and having them firmly correct me "you mean MERRY CHRISTMAS". Did it ever occur to people that I'm not trying to be PC, but maybe I'm actually not a Christian?
My holidays were nice. I got alot of nice gifts, and the days are getting longer. I'm getting tired of doing the light therapy and such to keep the SAD at bay so I'm thrilled for the Solstice to come and go.
I did finish a little project in between all the craziness! I'm thinking of giving it as a gift after I get it framed. I was a little worried how long it would take to do so much beading but that turned out to be the fast part. This was a Mill Hill Button and Bead Kit, and I think I'll definitely do more of these, next time I need a little project.
My holidays were nice. I got alot of nice gifts, and the days are getting longer. I'm getting tired of doing the light therapy and such to keep the SAD at bay so I'm thrilled for the Solstice to come and go.
I did finish a little project in between all the craziness! I'm thinking of giving it as a gift after I get it framed. I was a little worried how long it would take to do so much beading but that turned out to be the fast part. This was a Mill Hill Button and Bead Kit, and I think I'll definitely do more of these, next time I need a little project.
30 October 2008
Book Review: Isolation
Ok so Halloween is here, and I can't seem to find anyone up to watching scary movies with me. So this year, it's scary books. I just finished a very recently published book called Isolation by Travis Thrasher. It turns out that this book has a heavy Christian flair, but since it's a really good story of cult worship and ritual murder, it kinda plays into it and didn't annoy me all that much. The story is about a missionary family that returns to the states for a brief time, and are put up by the church in a large old house where other in-transit missionary families stay. It's a mansion that is sorta the folly of a rich old man who never lives in it, and whose family donated it to the church after he dies. The family thinks they will have a nice time to reconnect and rest, but what they don't know is that the house has a dark past and that someone is watching them.
The only thing I don't like about it, obviously, is the Christian dilemma. The husband is sure that if God loves them, they will be safe. If there is no God, the danger will get them. And though most rational adults of many religions would find that silly, the book reinforces this idea in many ways. And the book seems to be saying that the safety of the family hinges upon the husband coming to the right resolution during his "faith crisis".
But if you just look at the religious undertone as a great offset to weird cult stuff, like I did, it's a good backdrop for a horror anyone can enjoy. It's well written and has fantastic twists. Very quick read. Great for Halloween.
Grade: B
The only thing I don't like about it, obviously, is the Christian dilemma. The husband is sure that if God loves them, they will be safe. If there is no God, the danger will get them. And though most rational adults of many religions would find that silly, the book reinforces this idea in many ways. And the book seems to be saying that the safety of the family hinges upon the husband coming to the right resolution during his "faith crisis".
But if you just look at the religious undertone as a great offset to weird cult stuff, like I did, it's a good backdrop for a horror anyone can enjoy. It's well written and has fantastic twists. Very quick read. Great for Halloween.
Grade: B
26 October 2008
Smartie and Me
I just love my new car, a Smartcar Passion Coupe. This is a picture of it, a day or two after he came home. This car is alot of fun and I have alot of really nice high-end features on an affordable car. LOOOOVES it
Oh and this is Domo. He thinks the car is his.
But new cars isn't all that I've been up to. This is a little quick project I made for my sister, who for some reason thought this phrase was perfect for her.
Now, I'm working on a new one, a little Prairie School Sampler called "November". I don't have much done but this is the progress so far
On a side note, the craziness at home is slowing down a bit. Right now, all I've really got on my plate is work, which is alot more manageable without relatives in nursing homes and things like that. We'll see if things stay quiet for a few days so that I can get caught up around the house. I also think I might get a fun holiday job if things stay quiet, just to make a little cash to offset heating bills and car payments.
24 September 2008
Couple of Things
There's been a couple things happening lately. Firstly, happy Autumn Equinox. For a moment, the day and the night were exactly even. The sun is giving way to the moon, which reminds me that sometimes the light gives way to dark and this is just natural. It also reminds me that the sun always comes back... eventually.
On the positive side, work's been going ALOT better, and I am wondering if all my hard work is going to pay off. I and my boss were the guests on a local radio show, and we recorded two shows. Those will be on the air October 11 and 18.
On a sad note, J's grandfather has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks, the most recent being a heart attack which he suffered Tuesday morning. He was already in the hospital at the time to have his gall bladder removed, so I'm grateful that his blocked artery was found before he was put under total anesthesia for that procedure. Instead of having his gall bladder removed, he had a stint put in the blocked artery, and if he responds well to the stint and medication he's on, he's going to have his gall bladder removed in a few days. J and his mother are besides themselves. J's grandmother just died in December a day after Christmas, and now his grandfather. His mother raised him with the help of his grandparents, and so he is very close to them. Last night we tried to be there for his mother, I cooked for us and then we took her to an ice cream shop to sit outside and enjoy the fresh autumn air.
And on a totally different note, this is the project that I started while I wait for the material to arrive for my sister's project. So far I only have the blue mug part done, I'll get some WIP pics posted soon.
On the positive side, work's been going ALOT better, and I am wondering if all my hard work is going to pay off. I and my boss were the guests on a local radio show, and we recorded two shows. Those will be on the air October 11 and 18.
On a sad note, J's grandfather has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks, the most recent being a heart attack which he suffered Tuesday morning. He was already in the hospital at the time to have his gall bladder removed, so I'm grateful that his blocked artery was found before he was put under total anesthesia for that procedure. Instead of having his gall bladder removed, he had a stint put in the blocked artery, and if he responds well to the stint and medication he's on, he's going to have his gall bladder removed in a few days. J and his mother are besides themselves. J's grandmother just died in December a day after Christmas, and now his grandfather. His mother raised him with the help of his grandparents, and so he is very close to them. Last night we tried to be there for his mother, I cooked for us and then we took her to an ice cream shop to sit outside and enjoy the fresh autumn air.
And on a totally different note, this is the project that I started while I wait for the material to arrive for my sister's project. So far I only have the blue mug part done, I'll get some WIP pics posted soon.
17 September 2008
My WIP
This is something I've been working on for a while now. Well, I haven't really been working on it solidly. It's been off and on over the last year. It's Permin kit 12-1395, modified.
It's not complete yet, it needs backstitching, washed, ironed, and then beads attached. I'm doing the beads last so that they don't melt from the iron. Then this is going to the local framing shop right by where J works to get professionally framed.
It's not complete yet, it needs backstitching, washed, ironed, and then beads attached. I'm doing the beads last so that they don't melt from the iron. Then this is going to the local framing shop right by where J works to get professionally framed.
05 September 2008
Definitely Shorter Days
I started light therapy already for this year. I decided not to wait until I get sick but to be more proactive and try to stay healthy. It means getting up very early as it takes at least an hour a day for the therapy to work, and it must be done in the A.M. When I realize the way my health is tied to the changing seasons, the sunlight, and the moon, it's obvious why I have accepted nature spirituality. The interconnectivity of all things is not an abstract concept to me, but a fact of life.
The only problem I'm having is getting to bed at a better time so that I can get up in the mornings. It seems like 11 o'clock, when I'm about to retire, is the hour for things to crop up. Last night, I ended up getting into an unavoidably deep convo with a friend who is cheating on her husband and then when I finally headed to bed, I came across a doggie accident which meant 20 minutes of cleaning before I could finally get to bed. I really need to work on severing the evening when I should.
Wish my luck!
The only problem I'm having is getting to bed at a better time so that I can get up in the mornings. It seems like 11 o'clock, when I'm about to retire, is the hour for things to crop up. Last night, I ended up getting into an unavoidably deep convo with a friend who is cheating on her husband and then when I finally headed to bed, I came across a doggie accident which meant 20 minutes of cleaning before I could finally get to bed. I really need to work on severing the evening when I should.
Wish my luck!
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